Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife Hon. Najib Balala, EGH will this week lead a strong delegation of business meetings and events companies composed of public and private sector players to IMEX, Frankfurt. Kenya will be exhibiting at the exclusive Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Events (MICE) exhibition for the first time under the Meet in Kenya banner. The exhibition runs from 31st May to 2nd June 2022 at Messe Frankfurt.
This comes at a time when Kenya’s and indeed the global meetings industry is slowly showing positive signs of recovery from the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that led to a sharp decline caused by travel restrictions imposed to control the spread of the virus.
A recent report on Kenya Tourism Performance released by the Tourism Research Institute showed that international arrivals attributed to business events and meetings increased to 178,779, a 27% contribution to total arrivals to Kenya last year.
In line with the full-scale resumption of international tourism and MICE business, Kenya plans to come out strong with its positioning and marketing activities geared toward communicating the destination’s capacity to host world class meetings sustainability.
Hon. Najib Balala will participate at the IMEX Policy Forum which brings together national government leaders, business events executives and other industry thought-leaders. “The forum aims to build consensus on critical advocacy issues for both destinations and policymakers and align conversations and actions towards increasing sustainable economic benefits of business events. Kenya has put in place strategies to grow this important sector; the government is determined to improve Kenya’s position and image as a leading business events destination in the continent”, Minister Balala added.
“Kenya was ranked 5th in the 2019 ranking of Association meetings held in the continent by ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association). We are using this opportunity to tell the world that Kenya is open for business, as we work towards reclaiming our top position as the leading business events destination in the region,” said Jacinta Nzioka, National Coordinator Kenya National Convention Bureau.
“We further re-affirm this status by coming to IMEX as this provides us with the opportunity to reassure the global business events industry that Kenya is very much open for business and that Kenya is hosting meetings and events in a professional and safe environment,” she added.
Kenya Tourism Board, PrideInn Hotels, Twiga Tours, Enashipai Hotels and Resorts, African Quest Safaris, Accor-Fairmont Kenya and Glory safaris are some of the companies set to showcase Kenya in Frankfurt. They join over 3,500 exhibitors drawn from all corners of the globe for B2B meetings and a chance to land the deal that brings more meetings to Magical Kenya.
